Roots
by adoptpetz
Summary: If you look closely in the last battle scene, as Toothless swoops past their friends, in the background you see Eret holding a young girl up on his shoulders. Who is she, and why is Eret carrying her anyway? This is written assuming you've seen the movie and know what's going on. One-shot, Eret Tribute. Spoilers inside!


**Roots**

**A/N: If you look closely in the last battle scene, as Toothless swoops past their friends, in the background you see Eret holding a young girl up on his shoulders. Who is she, and why is Eret carrying her anyway? This is written assuming you've seen the movie and know what's going on. One-shot, Eret Tribute.**

It thumped uncontrollably, like a dragon thrashing about in one of his metal traps. In reality, it was just Eret's heart beating against his ribcage. But just like that helpless dragon, there was nothing Eret could do to stop the fear.

He'd experienced all this before, just a few days ago, in fact, when the dragon thief- whom he now knew to be Hiccup's mother- attacked his fort; the punishing cold radiating from those deadly spines of ice, the very ground giving out beneath his feet, comrades collapsing around him. The mere majesty of a bewilderbeast was enough to strike fear into the hearts of men. Especially when it's attacking you.

But this was different. Eret was no longer trapping for petty profit. He was fighting for his freedom, his _life_. He ground his teeth, clenching sweaty, grime-covered fists in an attempt to block out the fear. He had to overcome the terror if he was to survive this. '_Focus on the task at hand_,' he kept reminding himself. '_Just distract that thing_.' Easy, right? The colossal ice-spitter discharged another deafening scream. '_But how do you distract a bewilderbeast_?'

"Any ideas?" the feisty blond girl, Astrid, shouted.

"Search me," the obnoxious, beefy dragon rider called Snotlout replied.

"I say we bash its head in!" Tuffnut, the blond boy with dreadlocks declared.

"Uh, hello? Do you see how heavily armored the skull is? We'll never make a dent, not with these things, anyway," Fishlegs, the heavyset, nerdy character pointed out, gesturing to their current, wimpy scuttleclaw mounts.

"Well, what do you suggest?" Tuffnut's very unattractive twin Ruffnut cried.

"Do any of you ever come up with helpful suggestions?" Astrid exasperatedly burst.

"I haven't heard your ideas yet, Astrid. Please do share," Snotlout challenged.

Eret tuned out their arguing. Of all of the vikings here, he had the disadvantage. Berk was their home, but this was all new territory to him. The buildings were laid out much differently than where he had grown up, but he did recognize a few vaguely familiar structures. He managed to identify what looked like a forge, not too far from a grand building that could only have been Mead Hall. Traditional, well-worn homes had been built into the hills and cliff faces, and Eret spotted a few workshops set up around the island, but there were also many structures entirely foreign to him.

Distracted from his assignment, Eret became caught up in familiarizing himself with the land. He finally identified the swatch of land they'd been circling as an arena. The mere idea of having a stadium in the middle of a village was foreign to him, but now that he'd recognized it for the showground it was, he didn't know how he couldn't have seen it before. Everything gave it away; the bleachers, the scoreboard, the winner's podium, the thunderdrum horn, the… wait, what in the name of sanity _was_ that thing? He'd seen a lot of strange contraptions scattered throughout the village, but this one topped them all.

"What's that device supposed to do?" he found himself asking. The others finally stopped bickering to stare, struck dumb by his even dumber question.

"What, the sheep launcher?"

"_Sheep launcher_? What on earth do you need a sheep launcher for?" the puzzled ex-trapper furrowed his brow.

"Uh, this isn't the best time, Eret," Fishlegs dismissed. "You know, since that bewilderbeast we're _supposed_ to be distracting is still attacking the village?"

"No, no, that's brilliant! Ruff, Tuff, get down there and prime the launcher. The rest of us need to round up as many sheep as we can find."

"We're on it!"

"Quick thinking, Eret," Astrid praised, ushering her scuttleclaw downwards.

"Thanks… I think." Eret quickly realized that he didn't even know where to begin looking for the sheep, so he quickly pressed his own stubborn steed to follow her.

Between the seven of them, enough sheep were rounded up in no time.

"Get this thing in position! We need to attract the bewilderbeast's attention," Astrid directed.

"But won't that just direct his attention onto us?"

"Exactly."

"So what's to keep _us_ from becoming popsicles?" Astrid fell silent, trying to work out this kink in her plan.

"We need to keep it confused," Eret assessed. "Some of us need to split off."

"Ooh! I have an idea!" Fishlegs excitedly exclaimed, rushing off.

"Where are you going?" Astrid threw up her hands.

"I've got you covered!" was his only response.

"I must find Cloud Jumper," Valka excused, returning to one of the baby scuttleclaws.

"But we need you here!"

"You'll be fine. Come on, little friend." Just like that, she took off.

"Anyone else going to abandon ship?" Astrid growled, glaring at the remaining vikings as though challenging them to make a move. No one dared breathe, let alone reply. Satisfied, Astrid flipped her braid out of the way and got back down to business. "Good. Now, let's get this thing set up."

"Target acquired," Tuffnut grinned.

"Ammo loaded!" Ruff reported.

"Fire!" Eret watched in fascination as Ruffnut pulled a lever which released the tension of the mechanism and launched their protesting missile high into the air. The distraction seemed to have worked; the bewilderbeast tracked the flailing sheep rather than Hiccup, who was inching by on his purple dragon. Eret was the closest, so he neatly reached out to catch the ewe for reloading.

As had been predicted, the dragon was not amused, and prepared to eradicate the pesky group with a single icy breath. Eret's heart stopped in his chest. Was this really such a good idea? Was he going to die like this? He flinched rather violently, subconsciously clutching the sheep still cradled in his arms.

A metallic bellow echoed through the village, and the icy blast never came. Rather, Drago's bewilderbeast redirected its efforts to finding the source of the noise. Eret let out a breath he wasn't aware he'd been holding. Fishlegs must have made his way to the thunderdrum horn he'd spotted earlier. Meanwhile, Tuffnut quietly but quickly beckoned for another sheep to load, and Snotlout surrendered a black one to the cause.

The black-fleeced animal was propelled a little closer to the target this time, and landed on the monster's forehead. Unable to get a grip on the lumpy scales, the sheep rolled down, bouncing and plinking off the bewilderbeast's antennae-like growths before finally getting wedged between two of them just above the upper lip.

"Ten points!" Snotlout jibed with a hearty chuckle, prompting laughter from his companions. The dragon snorted, dislodging the creature in one frosty snuff. It again prepared to impale them with ice, but once more, Fishlegs came through, and blew the horn. Eret offered his sheep, assuming they would repeat the procedure, but the dragon wizened up. Though it didn't have a specific target in sight, it aimed it's deadly frost for the bugle.

"NO!" Astrid shrieked, covering her mouth in shock.

"I'm okay!" a voice assured from the other side of the ice. Instantly recovered, Astrid collected herself.

"Come on! Run, before it gets us too!" Eret didn't need to be told twice. His legs propelled him forward to take cover amongst the battered buildings.

"Now what?" Tuff asked, dodging scattered shards of blue ice as he ran. Astrid looked up as Hiccup confronted Drago Bludvist.

"There's nothing we can do for him now. Let's make ourselves useful here. Look for survivors," she directed, gesturing to the lifeless rubble around them.

"Got it," Snotlout acknowledged, taking off down another alley.

"Which way should I-" Eret felt it necessary to ask for directions, since the native tribe would know best where to begin searching. However, by the time he turned around, he realized he had been heard only by the wind. The twins both already took some other shortcut they still recognized through the tattered landscape, and Astrid had disappeared off to who-knows-where.

"Right," Eret panted, looking around to weigh his options. Thankfully, they were being attacked by an ice-breathing dragon, so there was no smoke to obscure his vision. To his left, the buildings had been all but leveled, and whatever building fragments hadn't been suspended by the glistening blue spikes were strewn across the surface of the gooey black sludge, a mixture of mud, soot and other various debris. There wasn't much cover left to take refuge in, and Eret doubted any survivors could be buried in the sparsely-dispersed wreckage. Eret was quite glad he didn't have to go that way- the bewilderbeast was approaching from that direction. Without a second thought, he took off in the opposite direction.

He wasn't quite sure where he was going, just that his destination was wherever that monster wasn't. He blindly sprinted between houses, nimbly cleared building fragments and discarded carts, and expertly maneuvered around hazardous patches of ice, whether caused by the bewilderbeast or not. By the time Eret had caught his breath, he realized that the homes in his immediate vicinity were almost completely, if not entirely intact. He sighed rather heavily, reckoning that he'd better get back to the battleground where he would be of some real use. Yet a voice cried out at the back of his mind, pleading to be excused from the fight.

No, that voice wasn't just in his head. Eret righted himself, still breathing heavily, as he attempted to pinpoint the source of the sobbing. After playing a brief game of hot-and-cold with the noise, he finally decided it was coming from the back room of a nearby house.

Eret strode closer, stepping carefully as to not frighten the unsuspecting occupant. He peered through the house's back window, his eyes sifting through the dark emptiness. Nothing caught his eye, and he almost moved on when something shifted at the very bottom of the sill.

After a lot of straining and repositioning to get a better look, Eret finally made out the dim form of a young weeping girl, huddled halfway under a bedside table and shaking like a leaf. It was hard to see through the overwhelming blackness as the window didn't provide much light, but she appeared to have thin, red-brown hair parted to the side and cut chin-length. Her simple, canvas garment was long-sleeved, and didn't appear very warm, but she was shivering from fear rather than the cold. Her warmer dark brown pants were made of some dark-colored animal hide, which had been tucked into very thick, toasty, protective boots. Her pale, pasty skin was currently smudged and streaked from layers of dirt and tears. She currently clutched a ragged, worn typhoomerang doll, possibly quite full of dust mites and lice. Nevertheless, she cradled the most likely contaminated toy, stroking it gently, assuring it over and over that everything would be alright.

Eret wasn't quite sure what to do in a situation like this. He couldn't very well leave her like this, not with Drago's ice-spitter still bombarding the village. Still, he didn't know her and she didn't know him. If her parents had raised her properly, she'd know not to trust strangers. Thinking of, where _were_ her folks?

"Uh…" Eret found himself stammering against his better judgment. The girl gasped and recoiled when she realized she was being watched, and Eret nearly lost her to the shadows. "Hey, it's alright," he softly called. "I won't hurt you. Why don't you come on out of there?" To his surprise, the girl slowly obeyed, crawling out from under the bed like a dragon from its nest. She timidly stood and righted herself, though she insisted on staring at the ground with her arms folded neatly in front of her, the doll still dangling from her fingers. At least she'd stopped crying. "What's your name?"

"Elda," she quietly squeaked, daring to steal a glance at the stranger leaning in through the window.

"That's a pretty name," he commented. "I'm Eret." No response. "Are you alright?" She just nodded her head once and continued to study the floorboards. Eret struggled for something else to say. "What's a little girl like you doing all alone out here?"

"Da told me that I must stay put until they get back," she answered in a voice just above a whisper.

"I see," he slowly acknowledged.

"They are coming back, aren't they?"

"I…" Eret couldn't even meet the girl's gaze. He had no way of knowing if they had survived the attack or not, but he couldn't bear to inform her of the possibility that she may never see them again. Either way, he didn't get the chance to respond. The entire island trembled as tremendous footsteps approached. The top of the bewilderbeast's mighty head was coming into view.

"We have to get out of here," he informed the girl.

"But Da told me to stay!" she fearfully protested, tears welling up in her red eyes once more.

"It isn't safe here!" he insisted, beckoning for Elda to follow him. She shook her head and squeezed the doll tighter, too petrified to move if she wanted to.

Eret's heart beat faster as the bewilderbeast drew closer. She couldn't stay, and he couldn't leave her. But at the same time, she refused to move. '_So go get her_.' Oh, yes. The front door was on the other side, wasn't it? Without wasting another second, Eret scrambled around to the front of the house.

Elda whipped around when she heard the front door squeak open, but made no further moves. "Come on," he urged again. The short-haired girl stumbled backwards, still weeping and shaking her head.

"I'm scared," she finally explained through wet eyes and a runny nose, snuggling the worn typhoomerang close. Eret's expression softened at last, and the hulk of a man slowly approached the tiny girl. His knee touched down on the sagging, wood-plank floors to match her height.

"Hey, it's alright," he started to wipe her eyes when his hand brushed the precious doll. Ultimately, an idea came to him. He lightly tugged on the doll's head, indicating that he wanted to examine it. Elda complied and released the toy.

Forgetting about the nearing danger entirely, Eret turned the toy over and over in his hands, carefully scrutinizing the handiwork. "This is a rather impressive fellow. Does he have a name?"

"_She_," Elda corrected.

"She, I'm sorry," Eret revised. "Does _she_ have a name?"

"Snark," she sniffed.

"Snark," he repeated. He seemed to consider the name for a moment before holding the doll closer to his ear, fiddling with the upper body so it appeared to be moving. "What's that, Snark?" Elda giggled, realizing what he was doing and playing along. "I see," he nodded, still listening to the toy's dialogue.

"What's she saying, what's she saying?" Elda clasped her hands in anticipation.

"Good man- er, dragon,- Snark." Eret handed the stuffed dragon back, and the girl's gaze eagerly flicked between Eret and the toy, wondering which one of them would clue her in to the conversation that had just taken place. "Snark here just told me something very important."

"Tell me, tell me!" Eret beckoned Elda close, as though to tell her a very confidential secret.

"It turns out, Snark is a luck dragon."

"But she's a typhoomerang," Elda insisted, informatively folding her arms.

"Typhoomerangs can be luck dragons," Eret claimed with a bemused grin, mimicking her crossed arms. "Now, let me finish! Snark is a luck dragon, which means so long as you're holding her, nothing bad will ever happen to you."

"Wow! Really?" Elda gazed down at her inanimate friend with new wonder twinkling in her eyes.

"Really." The quakes were becoming stronger, and the urgency of the situation finally came rushing back to Eret. "Now, please, Elda. Come with me. Bring Snark, and I promise you'll be safe. We'll get you back to your folks, yeah?"

"Come on, Snark. We have to go with Mr. Eret now, okay?" Elda told her doll, taking a few confident steps over to the tattooed man.

"That's it, Elda," Eret reached for her free hand so he could walk her out. Just as they reached the threshold, an imposing, silhouetted form overshadowed the house. Eret tried to be gentle in handling the tiny girl, but almost ended up shoving her backwards in his effort to cover her mouth and stifle the oncoming scream. The two retreated back into the shelter of the house, though Eret knew they could be crushed by a single toe of the beast. With one hand still covering Elda's mouth, he cautiously peered outside. The bewilderbeast didn't appear to have seen them, because it passed over without a second glance, apparently with another target in mind.

"Alright. Now, Elda, you must be very quiet. Can you do that?" The girl attempted to nod, but this proved rather difficult with Eret's entire palm still smothering her face. Eret quickly and quietly lifted her onto his back, and stole one more glance out the door. The dragon's pale underbelly still loomed above them, but the beast was currently distracted with a stubborn black dragon and his rider. It was now or never.

Eret gripped Elda tighter as he sprinted down the cobblestone road beneath the beast, trying very hard not to trip on potholes or scattered debris. The shadow cast by such a massive form was almost as impressive as the monster itself, blocking out almost all available light. He wove his way through more and more rows of houses, just trying to put as much distance between them and the dragon's icy maw as possible.

It wasn't long before Eret stopped behind one of the houses to regain his bearings (and his breath). Elda must have realized that his ragged breathing wasn't entirely due to the physical strain her extra weight added, because she snuggled closer into his warm fur vest and relaxed a bit. "Don't worry, Mr. Eret. We have Snark with us, remember? Nothing bad can happen." The older man quizzically looked her over, and couldn't help but smile.

"Right, Elda."

"Let's go that way, to the cove," the youngster suggested. "It's where the whole village goes when bad things happen. It's the safest place I know."

"Right. You'll have to lead the way. I'm new to these parts."

"Okay," she casually agreed. Eret readjusted his piggyback grip, and she gauged the quickest route. "We can cut through town square. It's the fastest way."

They were just emerging into the square when Eret recognized a few familiar faces regrouping. Ruffnut, Fishlegs and Astrid seemed to be ushering the sheep to a safer location. With his hands full, Eret was unable to join in the effort.

"Look! It's Mr. Hiccup!" In her excitement, Elda clambered over Eret's vest, adjusting from a piggyback stance to perch on his shoulder for a better look. It wasn't as though she needed to; the chief's heir and his night fury came to them, whizzing by as they circled back to face off with the bewilderbeast.

"TAKE 'EM DOWN, BABE!" Astrid screamed, hooting and hollering on the spot. Her cries headed off a chorus of additional whoops from the multitudes positioned on the town's lower level.

"YAY!" Elda began feverishly clapping to join in the celebration. Unfortunately, in order to do this, she had to release her grip on Eret's coat. He hastily- though amusedly- clasped his hands around her waist to prevent her from falling.

The two watched in fixation as Hiccup and Toothless swooped down, narrowly avoiding the bewilderbeast's deadly ice. By the time Toothless emerged from the spray of clouding frost, the saddle was empty, though intentionally so. Hiccup had used his flight suit to swoop down over Drago, and using the zippleback gas contained within his sword Dragon Blade, caused an explosion that rocked the whole island. Though it hit close to Drago, it did little more than topple him from his mount and unbalance the bewilderbeast itself. Unfortunately for Hiccup, this caused the dragon's tail to flail about, but still gliding in the flight suit, there was nothing Hiccup could do to divert from the collision course.

Toothless surged forward, zooming faster and faster to close the gap between him and his rider. Hiccup prepared to retract the flight suit, and his night fury displayed an impressive double-spine running down his back. The rider easily fell back into the saddle, and together, they veered upward. Though it looked to be a close scrape, both made it out alive. Within moments, they dove back down to where Drago had fallen, where Eret finally lost sight of them.

"Let's go!" Astrid beckoned, abandoning the task of herding to meet back up with her boyfriend. Fishlegs and Ruffnut ditched the effort and followed without a second thought, but Eret still had Elda under his care. Bringing her into harm's way was not a wise idea. Frankly, he wasn't sure what to do with her at this point.

"Aren't we going with them?" she prompted.

"It's too dangerous," Eret flatly informed her. "We need to find your parents. Do you see them down there?" Yet as Eret looked off the edge of the cliff to the vikings clustered below, even he couldn't distinguish where one ended and another started, especially as they all flocked to assist their chief. Elda scanned the forms intently, and finally pointed.

"There! That's Mum!"

"Where?" Eret tried desperately to hone in on any one form, but still only saw a blur.

"That way!" Elda wormed her way out of Eret's grip, racing for her mother at a speed he never would have thought possible.

"Elda, wait!" Eret struggled to keep up, partly because she was so fast, but mostly due to the fact that she zipped through small openings in the rubble where he was unable to follow.

She finally stopped at the edge of the viking stampede, patiently examining all the faces that passed by. Eret, however, hung back by an overturned cart to catch his breath. After several minutes of silently watching the swarms run by, Eret wondered if perhaps she had missed them. After all, she didn't exactly have the best view from her vantage point. He was about to lift her back up on his shoulders when suddenly, "MA!"

"Elda?" A traffic jam ensued as one of the charging women suddenly stopped, causing a pile-up behind her. Even as vikings tumbled to the ground and tripped even more soldiers, the first woman somehow managed to remain upright, and fought through the horde to reach her daughter. "Elda!" A large, strong looking woman promptly scooped up her little girl. Eret couldn't tell much about her features beneath heavy armor plating, aside from the fact that she had long, mahogany hair which poked out from beneath a horn-embellished helmet.

Eret watched the tender reunion from the background, finally finding his efforts worthwhile. He wasn't sure what to do next. Introduce himself? Wait to be addressed? He didn't have time to make up his mind before shouting attracted his attention by the bewilderbeast. '_Hiccup and Drago were facing off,_' he recalled. Leaving Elda in her mother's care, Eret hurried to see what he could do to help.

"What're you doin' out here? We told you to stay put!" Elda's mother obliviously scolded in a reprimanding yet relieved tone, all smothered in a heavy Scottish accent.

"I was going to stay in the house, but then Mr. Eret found me and said it wasn't safe…" Elda twisted in her mother's tight grip to find the tattooed man, but gazed only upon empty space. Baffled, she scanned the surrounding area, but still couldn't locate her newfound friend.

Dragon shrieks drew their attention from above, and both mother and daughter looked up to find the dragons were abandoning the alpha. Elda's mother weighed her options. The tide certainly seemed to be turning in their favor.

"Alright, come along," she ordered her daughter. "But you must stay close, and keep behind me, you hear?"

"Yes, Momma."

Meanwhile, all of Berk was rallying to take a stand against Drago and his madness. After saving Hiccup from their opponent's icy breath, Toothless had challenged the alpha, distracting the monster and breaking its hold on all of their allies. The vikings couldn't really do much else but watch and cheer on the dragons, who were currently occupied with the task of blowing Drago and his mount out of the water. The bewilderbeast couldn't even be identified through the smoke, let alone see its attackers, so it rose up on its hind legs to reacquire a target. Toothless, glowing blue with energy, bellowed in defiance and planted one final plasma blast that ended it all.

The bewilderbeast howled in agony; once the haze cleared, everyone watched as one gargantuan tusk tumbled down to the earth, lopped jaggedly off from its base. The beast recoiled from Toothless's authoritive shrieks, humbled to the point of briefly paying homage to its successor. Without any further objection, the bewilderbeast dove back down into the icy sea, dragging one-armed Drago down with it.

Deafening cheers filled the isle of Berk, and Eret was no exception. He, especially, had reason to celebrate. His suppressor was finally gone.

For the first time in what felt like an eternity, Eret realized that he was happy. He had no encroaching deadlines to suffocate him, no delivery quotas, and no worries of crew morale dropping beyond repair. Even his fear of the scar-faced, one-armed man had been carried off into the sea foam. He was _free_.

Most dragons took a moment to pay their respects and welcome the new alpha, but some were already searching out and returning to their riding partners. Since Hiccup had already been reunited with his dragon and Eret didn't have one, the two appeared to be the only vikings unoccupied. Eret decided to take the opportunity to approach the new chief and discuss his fate.

"That was some pretty fine dragon wrangling back there. You'd make a good trapper," he cautiously began. Hiccup didn't miss a beat, but allowed his father's dragon to greet (and nearly unbalance) the newcomer. In fact, this gave the chief an idea.

"You know, Skullcrusher's going to need somebody to look after him, now," he proposed.

"Me?" Eret realized with a start that his ulterior motive had been recognized. Hiccup expressed a look as if to say, 'only if you're up for the challenge.' Eret smiled upon this mutual understanding. "I'd be honored."

Hiccup turned away as Skullcrusher began pleading with his new rider for attention, which Eret was more than happy to provide. The whole dragon-rider relationship was still new and fascinating, and receiving a dragon of his own- the former chief's steed, no less- seemed incredibly impossible. Eret was perfectly content just soaking in the reality of the moment.

"That's him, Mum! That's Mr. Eret!" Eret had been kneeling down to give Skullcrusher a good scratch, and turned just in time to receive a faceful of itchy canvas. Tiny arms squeezed his neck, and it didn't take long for him to realize that Elda had returned to give him a hug. He awkwardly hugged her back, but eventually had to pull her away so he could breathe.

"Hey there, Elda."

"You left," the girl scolded, folding her arms.

"Yes, well…" he cleared his throat, "I thought they needed me here."

"You're the one that took my daughter?" Elda's mum glared daggers at Eret.

"I… uh…" he knew his only option was to own up to the deed, but her imposing figure and angry posture tied up his tongue.

"I don't know who you think you are, but she's just a girl! The battlefield is no place for a child!" Eret continued to back away from the encroaching woman, but was running out of space- there was a building just behind him.

"Elda! Helene!" A surly man with a coarse blond beard and short hair bounded up, arms open.

"Da!" Elda allowed herself to be scooped up a second time.

"Thank goodness you're alright."

"Magnus!" the woman, Helene, acknowledged her husband rather gruffly. Elda's father turned and seemed to notice Eret for the first time. "This man _intruded in our home_ and _took_ our daughter! Haven't you something to say to him?" Eret couldn't even manage a crooked grin as he tried to escape the wrath of Elda's father.

"That was you?" Magnus narrowed his eyes, looking the stranger over from top to bottom. Eret gulped as he approached, still holding Elda.

"Y-yes, sir," he honestly answered, suddenly uneasy. He looked to his new dragon. He wasn't sure if a dragon would support him in this sort of fight, or if he had yet earned Skullcrusher's loyalty. He was almost worried the man would strike him, so Eret almost melted when in reality, the man simply clasped his hand.

"Thank you."

"Magnus?" Helene couldn't believe her husband.

"I just came from the house, Helene. It was completely splintered and blown apart by that thing. I thought…" he couldn't even bring himself to complete the sentence, and instead tightened his grip on the precious cargo. Elda, like the sweet girl she was, consolingly stroked her father's dirty hair. Even Helene wasn't sure what to make of the situation, and her narrowed, accusing slits morphed into wide, apologetic and disbelieving orbs. "Thank you for saving my daughter's life," Magnus finished.

Eret struggled for words for a moment. In the end all he could spit out was, "My pleasure."

"Are you gonna stay, Mr. Eret?" Elda curiously tilted her head. Eret considered this for a moment. Hiccup had given him Skullcrusher, but that didn't necessarily mean he was tied here. Yet, the image of Elda bouncing happily on his shoulder prompted a smile to emerge on Eret's face, not unlike a young sprout might force its way up from beneath the cold, gritty surface of the earth. Eret was determined to replant himself here, firmly this time. And he was surrounded by people who were willing to help him do just that. Elda hadn't known him for even an hour, yet she already treated him like family. If just for her, Eret could set up roots here.

"It appears as though I am, Elda," Eret confirmed, sidestepping Skullcrusher's head so he wasn't butted over again. The young girl beamed.

"Well then, Mr. Eret," Magnus adjusted his grip on Eret's palm to give it a firm shake, "welcome to Berk."

"Please, Eret is fine."

"Here, Eret," Elda slid down from her father's shoulder back to the ground, and reached around to pry Snark from her belt. She took one last look at her cherished toy before handing it over.

"What's this?" Eret crouched to receive the toy, quizzically turning it over.

"You said Snark was a luck dragon, and that I couldn't be afraid when I held her. But I'm not scared anymore," Elda rocked on her toes. "I want you to have her."

"But won't you need her the next time you're frightened?" Eret prompted, attempting to hand it back. But Elda sweetly shook her head.

"No, that's okay. I think Nippy is an even luckier dragon." As if on cue, a pinkish-red colored terrible terror glided down, and settled down in her hair. Just as it got comfortable, Elda yanked him down and gave him a rough but affectionate squeeze. The incredibly tolerant terror did little more than squeak in surprise. "Just… promise to take care of her, okay?" Eret looked back to the doll. As beaten up and worn as it was, the thing might as well have been made of gold.

"I'll protect her with my life," he finally vowed. Elda beamed.

"I suppose if you're going to be joining us here on Berk, you'll be looking for work," Magnus presumed. Eret straightened up and shrugged. He hadn't really been thinking of that when he decided to adopt this way of life. "Well, I know we'll need all hands on deck for a few days to get this mess cleaned up," he gestured to the scattered ice fragments and splintered buildings, "but once everything slows down, perhaps you could join me on my ship sometime? I've got a meager fishing crew; not nearly enough men to take care of all the fish these dragons have been stirring up lately. I've been looking for someone to help us out. Do you think you could handle it?" Eret almost didn't dare believe his luck. Did he just receive a job offer in the first day- no, first hour- on Berk?

"I've spent a fair amount of time on the sea," Eret nonchalantly nodded, not daring to express his full enthusiasm.

"Good man!" He received a hard clap on the back from Magnus, and tried not to stumble forward. Elda unfortunately noticed, and began giggling. Righting himself, Eret looked out at the recovering community he had assimilated himself into. Yes, Drago had left them a bit trampled and worse for wear, but the people on Berk would always help each other back up. In time, Eret was sure, he would not only grow, but flourish, if only he could set his roots deep enough. Looking back to Snark, Elda's meaningful gift, Skullcrusher, his dragon, Magnus, his new employer, and little Elda, his sweet young friend, he was off to a great start.


End file.
